EastGroup Properties in Buying Mode

JACKSON, MS-With a strong balance sheet and proceeds from stock and property sales last year, locally based EastGroup Properties Inc. says it is prepared to take advantage of low-priced properties coming to market in 2010. The acquisition mode is already under way with last month’s purchase of a three-building, 274,000-square-foot distribution complex in San Diego for $17 million, or $62 per square foot.

“We are optimistic that we will begin to see an increasing number of attractive investment opportunities over the balance of 2010,” says David Hoster, EastGroup president and CEO. The REIT completed $40 million worth of acquisitions totaling 835,000 square feet last year, including its first warehouse in the Las Vegas market.

EastGroup posted funds from operations of $80.6 million for the past year, down 5% from 2008, while earnings finished the year 20% lower at $26.7 million. The company raised at least $125 million over the past year through a combination of stock sales, mortgage completions and the sale of a vacant 62,000-square-foot warehouse in El Paso, TX for just under $1 million.